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Flitting Plasma

While coiled loops of plasma swayed and waved in profile above the Sun's surface, a blob of darker (i.e., cooler) plasma rose up, twisted and turned, then finally split part along a roller-coaster path (Aug. 27-28, 2013). In the meantime, the active region in the foreground put on an impressive show of its own with loops and flashes as magnetic forces struggled with each other. The video clip, which covered about 36 hours, was taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Credit: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.